Calgary is laying the groundwork for a significant restructuring of how its water services are governed and managed, signalling a willingness to establish a dedicated water utility department alongside a permanent, independent utility oversight committee of council.
The move follows recommendations from an independent review panel, released in January 2026, that called for a clearer accountability structure for the city’s water, wastewater and stormwater systems. The report identifies a lack of clear accountability, stemming from the water utility being split across multiple departments. As a result, the absence of a single accountable authority contributed to delayed and deprioritized decision-making.
One of the panel’s central recommendations was the creation of a standalone water utility department — a proposal the city has already begun acting on by issuing a request for proposals for external consulting support.
The consulting contract is expected to begin in early February and run through the remainder of 2026. According to the RFP, the city is seeking a qualified firm to advise on best practices, develop an implementation plan and provide governance and organizational recommendations to support the creation of the new utility.
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Under the proposed model, the Water Utility would be led by a Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Water Services reporting directly to the City’s Chief Administrative Officer. The COO would serve as the single point of accountability for end-to-end performance across service delivery, cost control, risk management and system reliability for the Calgary Metropolitan Area, including Airdrie and Chestermere.
The structure would consolidate core water functions that are currently distributed across the organization, bringing operations and maintenance; technical services; quality assurance; planning and regulatory; and risk, health, safety and environment under a single executive portfolio. The intent, the panel noted, is to improve clarity, reduce fragmentation and strengthen operational resilience as the system faces increasing demands and climate-driven risks.
Financial transparency is also a central component of the proposed shift. The Water Utility department would include segmented financial statements, allowing council and administration to more clearly link spending to system performance and long-term asset needs. The panel said this approach would support more informed investment decisions and help strengthen the reliability and resilience of the water system over time.
To support implementation, the panel’s report includes a suite of illustrative tools drawn from leading water utility practices. These include draft job descriptions for the COO of water and a senior risk and asset integrity lead, an integrated KPI (key performance indicator) dashboard, and a sample change-management timeline intended to guide early adoption.
The proposed risk and asset integrity lead role would serve as the utility’s senior risk authority, responsible for implementing a modern, best-practice approach to risk identification, evaluation and mitigation. The role is designed to support transparency and accountability from frontline operations through to executive leadership and council oversight.
Oversight of the new Water Utility would be provided by a Water Utility Oversight Board, to be established as a permanent committee of council. The board would serve as Calgary’s independent water oversight mechanism, with a mandate to provide expert, evidence-based guidance to both council and Water Utility leadership.
According to the panel, the chair of the oversight board would act as the principal steward of the governance framework, ensuring that deliberations are disciplined, informed by data and result in clear, actionable recommendations. The board is expected to be integrated into the city’s existing planning and decision-making processes, with defined points of interaction throughout the Water Utility’s annual business cycle.
To strengthen management visibility, the panel also proposed an integrated KPI dashboard that would provide the COO with a monthly, system-wide view of operational, financial and asset-integrity performance across water, wastewater and stormwater networks. The dashboard is intended to support proactive decision-making and early identification of emerging risks.
An illustrative six-month change-management plan included in the report emphasizes leadership alignment, employee engagement and cultural reinforcement as critical early steps. While the timeline is not prescriptive, the panel described it as a practical reference for translating strategic recommendations into action.
